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===Demons and monsters===

===Demons and monsters===

As well as the shades of humans, Hell is home to a number of supernatural creatures. Some of the punishments are carried out by demons, for example a demon with an enormous sword mutilates the sunderers in the eighth circle. In addition, each circle is guarded by a creature who personifies the sins punished there:

As well as the shades of humans, Hell is home to a number of supernatural creatures. Some of the punishments are carried out by demons, for example a demon with an enormous sword mutilates the sunderers in the eighth circle. In addition, each circle is guarded by a creature who personifies the sins punished there:

[[Image:canino.png|right|thumb|A carving of Cerberus, guardian of the third circle]]

[[Image:canino.png|right|thumb|200px|A carving of Cerberus, guardian of the third circle]]

* '''Minos''', mythological king of [[Crete]], guards the second circle (lust). He is depicted as a monstrous creature with a tail, who has the task of assigning new arrivals in Hell to their allotted place.

* '''Minos''', mythological king of [[Crete]], guards the second circle (lust). He is depicted as a monstrous creature with a tail, who has the task of assigning new arrivals in Hell to their allotted place.

* '''Cerberus''' the ravenous three-headed dog guards the third circle (gluttony).

* '''Cerberus''' the ravenous three-headed dog guards the third circle (gluttony).

* The '''furies''' are seen on the walls of the City of Dis before Dante and Virgil gain entry to the circle of heresy.

* The '''furies''' are seen on the walls of the City of Dis before Dante and Virgil gain entry to the circle of heresy.

* The seventh circle (violence) is guarded by the [[Minotaur]] and patrolled by [[Centaur]]s.

* The seventh circle (violence) is guarded by the [[Minotaur]] and patrolled by [[Centaur]]s.

* Geryon, depicted as a strange beast with a handsome face and scaled body, carries Dante and Virgil down into the circle of fraud.

* '''Geryon''', depicted as a strange beast with a handsome face and scaled body, carries Dante and Virgil down into the circle of fraud.

* Many giants, included [[Nimrod]] and the [[Titans]], stand around the edge of the lowest circle. The [[Titans]] committed treason by waging war against the gods, while Nimrod committed treason against God by building the [[Tower of Babel]] (he now speaks a language that none can understand).

* Many giants, including [[Nimrod]] and the [[Titans]], stand around the edge of the lowest circle. The [[Titans]] committed treason by waging war against the gods, while Nimrod committed treason against God by building the [[Tower of Babel]] (he now speaks a language that none can understand).

== In Popular Culture ==

== In Popular Culture ==

A 2002 best-selling mystery novel by Matthew Pearl, ''The Dante Club,'' is a piece of historical fiction set in [[Boston]] in 1865. It is based partly on real events; the [[Dante Club]] was real, the mystery story is not. At the time, not many people in the [[United States]] knew [[Italian]] or Dante's work. A group of writers formed a club to translate Dante's work and promote his importance. Three of them were [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]], [[Oliver Wendell Holmes]], and [[James Russell Lowell]]. Like Dante's work itself, it has frightening and gruesome scenes, but is rich in historical background.

A 2002 best-selling mystery novel by Matthew Pearl, ''The Dante Club,'' is a piece of historical fiction set in [[Boston]] in 1865. It is based partly on real events; the [[Dante Club]] was real, the mystery story is not. At the time, not many people in the [[United States]] knew [[Italian]] or Dante's work. A group of writers formed a club to translate Dante's work and promote his importance. Three of them were [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]], [[Oliver Wendell Holmes]], and [[James Russell Lowell]]. Like Dante's work itself, it has frightening and gruesome scenes, but is rich in historical background.